Springwatch: Woodpecker's murderous rampage terrifies BBC viewers

A WOODPECKER has become Springwatch enemy number one with its gruesome nest raiding antics.

Nature lovers have been left hiding behind the sofa as the hungry forest hunter was filmed picking off baby birds.

Striking scenes from the first night of the popular BBC Two series showed a male great spotted woodpecker destroying a treecreeper nest and flying off with a chick.

Moments later, he was trying the same tricks at a blue tit’s nest.

Today fans of the show hammered Springwatch on its social media pages for the scenes which showed the woodpecker chiseling away rotting wood to get at the treecreeper’s nest and then flying off with one of the youngsters.

“It's SO stressful!! I can't watch!” Wrote one viewer after the BBC repeated the game of life and death on its Facebook page.

Related articles

Another viewer added: “Love springwatch but I've gone right off woodpeckers. I know it's the circle of life and all that, but ...”

While one viewer commented: “Not liking the woodpecker – I thought he just liked insects for food.”

Against the hefty woodpecker with his sharp stiletto of a beak, the tiny treecreeper could only freeze and watch as its nest was obliterated with a volley of pecks.

“We cannot demonise woodpeckers, they eat meat not little spiders,” declared presenter Chris Packham as he viewed the footage, explaining that the parent treecreepers’ remaining babies could have scattered for safety."

Another viewer added 'Love springwatch but I've gone right off woodpeckers' (Image: GETTY)

The great spotted woodpecker is a hugely successful bird in the UK

Paul Stancliffe

Being able to rob other birds’ nests is a successful strategy for the great spotted woodpecker which has enjoyed an incredible population expansion over recent decades.

Paul Stancliffe from the British Trust for Ornithology explained: “The great spotted woodpecker is a hugely successful bird in the UK, largely as a result of its wide and varied diet which consists mainly of invertebrates and tree seeds.

“This enterprising bird will, however, take the eggs and young of other birds during the summer months and this behaviour may well have helped in its success.

“During the last twenty-five years British Trust for Ornithology data shows that its population has increased by 998 per cent, and that it has recently expanded into Scotland and Ireland, the latter famous for long being a woodpecker free zone.”